How Much Can I Make with Freelance Writing Jobs Online?

When it comes to freelance writing jobs online, the most frequently asked question is probably, “How much will I earn from that?” Well, it’s just normal. We’ve all got bills to pay and mouths to feed. It’s only practical to get an idea first on how much money can we really make with freelance writing jobs online, before fully venturing into this industry.

Control Over How Much You Earn

Unlike your regular day job where your monthly salary is typically fixed and predetermined (this may not be applicable to those working in sales and other related fields), you actually have the power to decide and dictate how much you can earn in a month through. It all depends on you. However, freelance writing jobs online are highly output-based. This means that how much you earn will totally depend on the number of projects that you take, and the quality of outputs that you make.

Factors to Consider

Nonetheless, you also have to take into consideration your level of experience, knowledge on the given topic, typing speed, research skills, and internet connection, as these factors can also contribute to your project’s turnaround time and your overall performance.

Getting Paid

Employers or clients of freelance writing jobs onlineare perhaps the most objective when it comes to payment terms. More often than not, freelance writers are paid on a per-word basis, wherein project rates depend on the number of words needed to be produced. For beginners, rate per word usually ranges from $0.01 to $0.50. This may also vary as your years of experience increase. In fact, other freelance writers who have been in the industry for a while claim that they can charge to as much as $1.00 and above per word.

Depending on the content, word-count may range from 500 words or so for general web articles, and reach up to 10,000 words or more for eBooks and academic research papers. The type of content may also affect the project rate. Projects that involve more tedious research tasks and stricter format guidelines such as white papers and terms papers, usually pay higher or even double than typical blog post contents or digital articles.

In some cases, clients may also be generous enough to pay a freelance writer on a per-hour basis—on top of the fee for the project itself. Rates per hour may range from $10 to over $100 on average. However, most clients refrain from doing so, as it may also be difficult for them to verify the actual number of hours spent working on a certain project, unless they set fixed working hours for their writers to effectively monitor their writers’ performance. After all, this would also defeat the main benefit of freelance writing, which is not being constrained to a fixed work schedule.

Write to Succeed, Succeed to Write

To be successful in the online freelance writing industry, the key is to keep on writing. Most of the time, there would be no personal interviews when you apply for a freelance writing post. Your works will ultimately speak for you. Usually, clients would simply ask for samples of your previous works, and from there, they could easily determine if you’re fit for the job or not.

Also, always remember to give your best shot in every project that you take. Aside from your works, your previous employers’ opinion on you, your work, and your attitude would matter more than anything else. Keep in mind that as you gain more years of experience, you’d get to develop more skills, more connections, and these can eventually help you demand and charge for higher rates in the future.